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A Change of Heart
This story is written by Cinderstar for Zaffie's contest! Main Characters Olive - A ginger tabby she-cat with bright green eyes, Olive is fiesty and sarcastic. She loves to joke around and is extremely outgoing and confident. Nothing anyone says can faze her, and she is capable of coming up with a retort to any remark. Saskia - A pale grey she-cat with blue eyes, Saskia was raised by her father. She was the only she-cat in her litter, and her three brothers were all much bigger than she was. But that didn't stop Saskia trying her hardest and learning all her father's lessons... and becoming the best cat assassin in all the world. She believes herself to be completely and utterly cold-hearted and without mercy, but is she really as cruel as she thinks she is? Being the runt of the litter, she is only just full-grown but still smaller than most other cats. She made her first kill at the tender age of four moons, and by now has killed close to thirty different cat targets. Rosepaw - A black tom with amber eyes. Rosepaw has been an apprentice for far too long, and his warrior ceremony is overdue. The biggest cat in the apprentice den, Rosepaw feels a certain amount of resentment towards his Clan leader, and wonders if his girly name has anything to do with his delayed ceremony. Rosepaw is a powerful tom with strong, broad shoulders and an aptitude for fighting, hunting, and anything physical. Smokey - A dark gray tabby and white tom with green eyes. Smart, self-centered and slightly arrogent. originally a kittypet, but ran away because he thought he was better suited for forest life. Taught himself how to read while being a kittypet. Smart from reading several twoleg books. Chapter 1 Saskia sat down and began to lick the blood from her grey paws. She was proud of herself, she now had killed twenty nine different cats. No one is more cold-hearted than me! ''She thought triumphantly. She looked back at the body of the black tom she had just murdured. She was certain he was trying to win her affections. ''I'm so cold-hearted, my affections can't be won over! She narrowed her eyes and purred. Once Saskia had licked all the blood off her paws, she got up, stretched, and began to walk to her temporary den by a shallow stream. She had been driven away from almost every place she had tried to settle, and she considered that an accomplishment. Saskia brushed past the ferns hiding the entrance to her den. The tom she had killed had fought hard, and she was tired. Curling up, she fell into a deep sleep. She began to dream. Saskia was in a lush, green forest. She was suprised at the warmth of the sun and realised it must be summer here, wherever she was. Just then she saw the black tom she had just killed pad towarrds her, his fur sparkling with stars. "I wish I could say I welcome you to the Starlit Forest." He meowed. "But I would be lying if I did. This is where all good rogues and loners come when they die." "I'm far from good." Saskia hissed. "I'm a merciless, cold-hearted killer. Who are you anyways." "My name is Dusk." He introduced himself. "I am here to warn you, and send you on a mission." "Why me?" Saskia hissed. "Because, your father thought it would be a good idea." Dusk retorted. Saskia narrowed her eyes, remembering her father. The first cat she killed had murdured him. "Go on." She meowed. "What is this mission?" "I'll let you know later." Dusk meowed, "But first I must tell you, three other cats will accompany you. When you meet up with them, I'll visit you in a dream and let you know of your mission." "Why should I do as you tell me?" Saskia hissed. "What's stopping me from running away and abandoning this crazy mission. I walk alone down my path of life." "Let me put it this way." Dusk meowed, his eyes hardening. "You want to kill your thirtieth cat right? If you don't go on this journey, you will die before you manage to do so. I will make sure of that. You killed me, I have just as much right to kill you." "All right, all right," Saskia growled. "I'll do your silly little mission." "Thank you." Dusk meowed. He turned his head toward a creamy golden she-cat padding up to them. The she-cat began to whisper in his ear. "He ate the cactus!?" Dusk meowed in shock. He turned to Saskia. "My cousin isn't the brightest cat that ever lived, and he just ate a cactus and died of a cut throat. I've got to go fetch him now." Saskia watched as Dusk and the she-cat faded into darkness, rolling her eyes at the thought of a cat eating a cactus. ... "I hate Badgerstar!" Rosepaw hissed, spitting in the face of his mentor, Talonscratch. "All these moons of training, and he's not making me a warrior yet!" "Calm down, your never going to earn your warrior name if you lose you temper like that." Talonscratch meowed. "I've kept my temper for thirteen moons of training." Rosepaw murmured. "My brother has been made a warrior already, and all the other cats who I grew up in the nursery with, and noe you tell me Icepaw and Birdpaw are being made warriors, and they were born after my training started!" "I'm sorry, that's just the was it is." Talonscratch meowed sharply. "Life's not fair." Rosepaw sank his claws into the ground. Maybe it's all because of my name. It's meant for a she-cat! I wish I could ask my mother why she named me such a silly name, but she died when I was only a half-moon old. '' "Why am I not a warrior! I should be a warrior! I fight and hunt way better than any of my denmates.!" Rosepaw insisted. "I don't know Badgerstar's reasoning, but I'm sure he has your best interests at heart." Talonscratch meowed icily. "But if you continue on complaining and losing your temper, Ashkit, Snowkit and Frogkit will be made warriors before you." ''But they were born yesterday! ''Rosepaw thought with despair. "Maybe I don't belong in ShadowClan." Rosepaw meowed. "Badgerstar sure doesn't want me here." "Don't expect the other clans to take you in!" Talonscratch warned, eyes cold. "ThunderClan stopped being so soft lifetimes ago." "A life as a rogue or loner would be better than a life being shadowed by newborn kits." Rosepaw hissed. He turned around and ran off before Talonscratch could say any more. ''Rosepaw isn't a tough name. Badgerstar just doesn't want me to make ShadowClan look bad because of my unsuitable name! I can live as a rogue. I'm a better hunter and fighter than half the clan! '' Rosepaw barely noticed the thorns ripping his pelt as he ran beyond clan territory. Soon his paws began to grow tired and he slowed down to a walk. He looked through the branches of the trees above and sighed as the stars began to come out. ''StarClan, do you watch me even here? Why am I still an apprentice, whil my brother has an apprentice of his own. Help me find my own life as a rogue or loner. '' Rosepaw was so caught up in his prayer to his ancestors, he didn't notice the scent of another cat wreathing around him. The next thing he knew he was pinned down by a pale grey she-cat with blue eyes. '...' "Fox dung!" Olive hissed as the squirrel she was chasing ran up a tree. She scowled up at the branches above her. Just then she heard the bushes rustle behind her. She narrowed her eyes as a dark grey tabby and white tom pushed his way out of the bushes. "Pity about the squirrel." He meowed. "Who are you? My name is Smokey." "I'm Olive." Olive meowed warily. sunlight caught on something around Smokey's neck and flashed. "Your collar!" Olive hissed. "You're a kittypet!" "I ''was a kittypet." Smokey meowed, narrowing his eyes. "I ran away from my twolegs. Kittypet life doesn't suit me, although it did teach me some interesting things." "What can being a kittypet teach you." Olive scoffed. "That batting around balls of yarn is fun? That dry rabbit dropppings taste good?" "No," Smoke meowed. "I taught myself how to read." "Read?" Olive asked skepticly. "What's that?" "Well, twolegs have these things called books." Smokey explained. " And in them there are markings, called letters, and letters form words. If you can understand the words, they can tell you something, just as clearly as talking can. There are words all over the place around twoleg things." "Really." Olive meowed, unimpressed. "Figures that a kittypet would find an intrest in twoleg stuff." "It's not all that bad." Smokey meowed, his fur rising on his back. "It's gotten me out of a tough situation more than once." "Whatever." Olive rolled her eyes. "If you're not a kittypet, you should get rid of that collar. Most wild cats aren't fond of kittypets." "I've been trying to get rid of this annoying thing ever since I set foot out of my old twoleg nest." Smokey meowed, his fur flattening. "Could you help me?" "Fine." Olive meowed, narrowing her eyes. She reached out for the collar and bit it off with her teeth. She stepped back to see what difference it made in Smokey's appearance. "Now you look almost normal." "Almost normal?" Smokey purred with amusement. "How-" He was cut off by a yowl of fear coming from through the trees. "What's that?" He asked. "Let's go find out." Olive meowed, not hesitating to brush through the undergrowth towards the yowl. Smokey had no choice but to follow. Chapter 2 "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now!" Saskia hissed at the black tom beneath her claws. I outwitted Dusk! I will make my thirtieth kill, without dying before I do! Why do I have to do anything that furball says? '' "I don't care if you do or not." The black tom spat. "My life is horrible enough as it is!" Saskia dug her claws deeper into the tom's pelt. The smell of blood rising from his wounds were intoxicating. It took all her comtrol not to start ripping him apart. "What's your name." She growled. ''Now Why am I bothering to ask that? "Rosepaw." The black tom replied bravely. "Laugh if you want, it's my name. It's the reason I'm not a warrior yet while kits who were born after I was apprenticed are." "Your a clan cat?" Saskia meowed with curiousity. She could never understand how so many cats could stand living so close to each other without ripping the pelts of their so-called clanmates. "I was." Rosepaw hissed. "I ran away. I'm never good enough for Badgerstar, apparently. Why am I dithering like a kittypet! I should kill this cat know while I get the chance. ''Saskia told herself sharply. Just as she began to lunge for the young tom's neck, she felt a something barrel into her, knocking her off her victim. ''Sorry Dusk! Please don't kill me! Then she realised the cat that had hit her wasn't black, It was ginger. Standing a few tail-lengths away was a fluffy grey tom. Then Dusk's words echoed in her head: three other cats will accompany you. "Hey, get off me!" Saskia hised at the ginger she-cat who had pinned her down. "You were trying to kill that cat, why should I let you go?" The ginger she-cat hissed. "I'm sorry." Saskia hissed, glaring at the ginger she-cat. "My name is Saskia. I thought that cat was my cousin, who I'm out to get revenge on. When he told me his name was Rosepaw, I realised I was wrong." The ginger she-cat looked disbelievingly at Saskia and got off her. "I'm Olive, and this is Smokey." She meowed. "Pleased to meet you." Saskia muttered. Smokey looked at Rosepaw. "She almost turned you into a porridge!" He meowed with amusement. "I am not a porridge." Rosepaw meowed with confusion. "What is that anyways?" "A type of twoleg food. I read about it." Smokey explained. "And you almost where" Breaking her eyes away from Rosepaw and Smokey's comversation, Saskia turned to Olive. She knew what she must do, even though she couldn't stand being around most cats. It couldn't be more abvious that these were the cats she was meant to travel with. Could I have been grouped together with a weirder group of cats? ''she rolled her eyes. "Now, everyone, listen up. I have something very important to tell you!" Saskia announced. '...' Olive couldn't believe her ears. Saskia, who seemed to be a ruthless killer, had just told them all that it was their destiny to go on a mission, all four of them. "Why should we trust you? How do I know you're not leading us into a trap?" Olive meowed suspiciously. "After all, you did just admit to trying to kill Rosepaw." "Sorry, I son't have anything to make you believe me any less or more." Saskia sighed. "I'm just passing on a message, and I know it could be disasterous if we don't go." Olive sighed. "Four cats, complete strangers traveling together, one admiting to atempting murder. What could possibly go wrong?" She heard Smokey laugh behind her. "I'm in." Smokey meowed. "I've read about missions, and they sound exciting." ''Where does this cat get all this stuff! Has he read about everything? Olive wondered, rolling her eyes. "I'm in too." Smokey decided. "There's no life for me back at my clan." Olive rolled her eyes. "I guess I can't refuse, seeing that everyone else is going." "Okay then." Saskia meowed. "Let's find a place for the night. I'll let you know what are mission is tomorrow." "Fine then." Olive meowed sharply. "But whatever you say, I'm not going to share a den with you. I still don't trust you." Chapter 3 Smokey woke up to Saskia's voice. "Okay, I can tell you what our mission is now." Saskia announced. "What?" Smokey asked, jolting himself awake. He couldn't believe he was going to be on an actual mission. He had read all about them in books. "There is a group of cats who call themselves The Shadow Claws." Saskia began. "Every night, they creep through the shadows, and kill their enemies while they're asleep. Aparently they can move so quickly and quietly that the shadowy blurr they become is unnoticeable. They also steal kits to join their ranks, and when cats are suddenly found dead or missing, there is no way to tell what happened." Smokey felt a shiver run down his spine. This really was like the books he read. "So what are you suggesting we do?" Rosepaw asked, his eyes wide with fear. "We have to find their camp," Saskia meowed, a hungry gleam in her eyes. "And destroy them. The best way to do that is to kill their leader, who calls himself Talon. Apparently he's the only one who knows how to give cats the power of the shadows, and supplies it, and if he dies, all the cats become normal cats again." "How do you expect we do that?" Olive asked. "If they find out we're after them, They just need to send out a patrol and we're dead in our nests." Smokey could tell beneath the spite, the ginger she-cat was as scared out of her fur as the rest of them were. "It's dangerous, but I'm in." Rosepaw meowed, trembling. "We promised yesterday we'd go with Saskia. A warrior never breaks a promise." He cut off. "I mean, I never break a promise. I can never go back to being a clan cat, no cat there appreciates me." "I suppose we can't back out now." Smokey agreed. "I go to save a cat who I'm certain will be killed, and it lands me in a situation where I'm almost certain to lose my life." Olive sighed. "What is this world coming to? I suppose I can't back out, if everyone else agrees." "Come on then, let's go." Saskia meowed, flicking her tail and stalking off into the undergrowth. Smokey began to follow Saskia and fell in step beside Olive. "I'm sorry I got you into this." Smokey meowed. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't agreed, you wouldn't have had to come along." "It's not your fault." Olive snapped. "It's my fault for trying to rescue Rosepaw! If I hadn't done that, Saskia would've killed him." "Any decent cat would try to save another in trouble." Smokey soothed. "Where did you come from?" He asked, trying to change the topic. "My back story isn't important." Olive meowed, "I'm here now, that's what matters. I don't like to dwell on my past. How long have you been away from your twolegs? You don't reek of them, so you must have been away from them a while." "I didnt have any specific housefolk, twolegs as you call them. I lived in a giant twoleg nest filled with books. It was called a library. Everyone who came to visit and borrow books looked after me. During the night, when no twolegs were around, I would read the books." Smokey explained. "Most of the stories I read were filled with adventures, and I began to grow restless, so one day, I slipped out through the book return slot and ran away. I wandered the forest for a while, and now here I am." "Oh." Olive meowed. Smokey suspected she didn't really understand what he was trying to tell her. He understood. He guessed if he hadn't taught himself how to read, he wouldn't have understood any of that either. He could tell he was way smarter than these other cats due to his reading. ... Rosepaw felt numb with horror as he padded through the forest. He heard Olive and Smokey gently talking to each other behind him. The idea of the Shadow Claws scared him more than he's care to admit. What made things even worse was that they'd struck pretty close to home too. He remembered the last gathering he'd ever been to. WindClan had reported missing kits and a warrior found dead in his nest. They blamed ThunderClan, and the truce had almost been broken over it. However the arguement hadn't been resolved, and Rosepaw suspected a war could break out between ThunderClan and WindClan soon, if it hadn't already. He pushed the thoughts of his old home away. He could never return there, ever. No cat appreciated him. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if ShadowClan missed him. Was Badgerstar sorry that he hadn't made him a warrior yet? Was Talonscratch angry, and did he have a new apprentice already? What about his mother and father, how were they coping with his disappearance. I made my desision, and I plan to stick with it! ''Rosepaw thought to himself. He wondered where he would go after finishing the mission. Rosepaw knew he would miss being in the company of other cats. Saskia and Olive were definatly the independant types, not likely to stay with other cats for longer than needed, and Smokey.. well Smokey was strange. Rosepaw couldn't imagine living with the former kittypet for any longer than he needed to. "Goodness gracious!" Rosepaw heard Smokey exclaim. Rosepaw rolled his eyes, thinking the grey tom couldn't really get any stranger. "Do you want to come walk by me?" Saskia asked, taking Rosepaw by suprise. "Sure." Rosepaw meowed. He quickened his pace until he was walking beside her. "I guess I haven't apologized for trying to kill you." Saskia meowed. "It's sort of a bad habit I have, killing other cats." Rosepaw laughed nervously. "H-have youkilled very many cats?" He asked, trying to stop his voice from shaking with fear. "Twenty-nine." Saskia meowed. Rosepaw's eyes widened with shock. "What ever posessed you to go on this mission?" Rosepaw asked. "You obviously don't like other cats if you've killed so many off." Saskia laughed. "Believe it or not, the last cat I killed visited me in a dream and told me I had to go on this mission, or he'd kill me." Saskia told him. "He said it was my father's idea, although I'm not sure if Dusk was telling the truth. My father raised me and my three brothers from kithood. He taught us everything we needed to know to survive, including the best places to strike to kill a cat. I took everything he taught me to heart, trying my best and exelling way farther than my brothers. The first cat I killed was the one who took my father's life. I liked having the power over life or death, so I continued killing. I just took the life out of cats who had nothing left to live for, and cats on the verge of death anyways. From there I grew more cold-hearted and merciless, killing almost every cat I met." Rosepaw felt a shiver run down his spine. "Well, I supose It's good to have a cat like you when we're going to attack the Shadow Claws, a cat that doesn't mind getting blood on her paws." "For an apprentice, you're preety brave, and smart." Saskia commented. "I should be a warrior." Rosepaw retorted, instantly feeling guilty for suach a curt response to what was a kindly mean't compliment. "I'm sorry." He murmured, "It's fine." Saskia meowed. Rosepaw noticed a new light in her eyes that wasn't there before. Chapter 4 "We're nearing the camp." Saskia whispered, sneaking through the undergrowth towards the edge of the cliffs. Under the cover of the fading night, she lead herself and her friends towards what could very well be their deaths. They had traveled for more than a moon together, and now they finally had found the camp of the shadow claws. Saskia noticed her friends trembling with fear. They had decided to attack during the daylight, when the Shadow Claws couldn't take them by suprise. "Now we just sit here until the sun rises." Smokey meowed, almost hiding the fear in his meow. "Shhh." Saskia whispered, nodding her head. "We can't let them know we're here." "I'm hungry." Olive complained, flicking her tail from side to side. "Too bad we can't hunt." Saskia gave Olive a warning glance. "What did I just tell you?" "You're not in control of me." Olive teased. Saskia flicked her tail. Then movement caught her eye in the camp below. Two cats, both of which were black., were padding around. Saskia narrowed her eyes as they spoke to each other, trying to catch their words. "We should go to sleep now." One of them meowed in a harsh voice. "We don't want Talon to yell at us for being sleepy again tomorrow night." "Yah, he threatened rip our ears off if we didn't get enough sleep today." The other hissed. "Purple spotted rinocerous, as if he could do that. You're so speedy, he wouldn't be able to catch you!" The other shadowy cat let out a fit of giggles as he followed his friend into the den. "We'll attack in a few hours." Saskia decided. "When their all groggy and tired in their nests." '...' Olive tensed, waiting for Saskia's order to attack. The four cats were crouched on the rim of the camp, ready to attack. ''I don't know why I agreed to let her lead the journey! '' Just then, Saskia's tail, which had been held up, dropped into a downward position. That was the signal. Olive followed her friends into the camp, letting out a yowl. An eerie hissing came from the den, and the Shadow Claws burst out, nothing but dark, amost transparent blurrs. Olive found herself locked in battle with a shadowy she-cat. Saskia had been right about the speed of the Shadow Claws. They moved with more spped and agility than any normal cat coud manage. ''How did they gain these otherwordly powers? ''She wondered as she bit deeply into the throat of the she-cat she'd been fighting. She released her grip before the she-cat died, and her opponent raced out into the forest, tail between her legs. Olive smiled with satisfaction, but her victory was short-lived. A shadowy tom threw himself against Olive, replacing the she-cat she'd just chased off. She repeated the move and the tom raced off, following in the footsteop of the she-cat. Olive glanced around, trying to find out which cat was Talon. Saskia was fighting side by side with Rosepaw, each sending cats fleeing from their claws, but the amount of cats still overwehlmed them. It didn't look like they'd win unless they found and killed Talon soon. Suddenly Olive felt a weight on her back. She rolled over, only to find the cat had moved out of the way just in time to pin her down. "Bye-bye." The shadowy cat hissed eerily. Olive struggled, and darkness filled her vision. So this was how she was going to die. She always knew Saskia's "mission" would get them nowhere but death. Then the weight dissapeared, and Olive snapped open her eyes to stare into Smokey's blue gaze. There was something in the former kittypet's eyes that made Olive's heart beat quicker. Shining out of his blue eyes was love, Olive recognized it from when her sister had fallen in love and left her behind to wander alone as a rogue. with a start, Olive reaslized she loved Smokey back. She got back to her feet, and glanced around again, trying to get her bearings. She noticed a golden brown tabby tom sitting at the top of a ledge, his fur streaked with shadows and a large black star on his forheard. A cry of recognition rose up from the fighting cats. "Talonscratch!" Rosepaw hissed with fury. Chapter 5 Smokey looked away from Olive for a moment and stared at Rosepaw with suprise. ''He knew this cat? Wow, this is even more like books than I thought! '' The Shadow Claws moved around, making a space for Talonscratch to leap down into the destroyed camp. "Well Rosepaw, I didn't imagine I'd see you here today." Tolonscratch meowed. "I thought you'd be long gone. Who are your friends?" Rosepaw glared into the big tom's eyes. "What are you doing here? A-are you really a part of these heartless cats?" His voice was thick with betrayel. "I didn't join there ranks." Talonscratch meowed, his mouth stretching into a crooked grin. "I created them. I am Talon, leader of the Shadow Claws." Smokey moved closer to Olive. "How do you think Rosepaw knows him?" He whispered to Olive. "Maybe he's a clanmate." Olive suggested. "After all, he did live in a clan once." Smokey nodded in agreement. "Maybe that's it." He turned back towards Talon to see what'll happen next. "Well, what are we doing standing around?" Talon hissed. "We fight with claws, not words! Shadow Claws, attack!" The shadowy figures sprang into battle, and once again, they were overwelmed. The cats who they had driven off had regained their strenth once again. ''That's why Talon started that conversation, to give his cats a chance to recharge. Then Smokey heard Olive yowl with fear. He turned his head, and saw that she was no longer beside him. He spreng into the direction her voice came from, and landed on the back of the cat who had pinned her down. "Smokey, no! It's a trap!" Olive meowed. "They knew you'd come and rescue me, so they pinned me down again!" The next thing Smokey knew, his world went black. The last thing he felt was feirce claws sinking into his chest and the last thing he heard was Olive's grief-filled yowl. ... Rosepaw stared in shock as Smokey's body sunk to the ground, all the life taken from his eyes and blood pouring from the gash in his chest. Seeing Smokey die seemed to give Olive strength, and the ginger she-cat flung off the cat that had pinned her down. Rosepaw, fuelled by grief and anger, fought even more fiercely than before, but it hardly made a difference. there were too many cats. Suddenly, he felt Saskia's presence beside him. "We need to kill Talon to end this battle, there's no other way." She whispered in his ear. Before he could reply, she had flung herself into battle. "I'll gladly take on Talonscratch." Rosepaw hissed to himself. "The traitor." He flung himself into battle, and found himself facing His former mentor, with Saskia at his side. "Well, what have we here?" Talon meowed, raking his claws down Rosepaw's side. "Still trying to become a warrior?" "Being a warrior doesn't matter to me any more!" Rosepaw meowed, barreling into Talonscratch and raking his claws down his pelt. "I've found something else to live for!" "What, your friends?" Talonscratch purred in amusement. "They'll all die, just like the grey one." Rosepaw and Saskia hissed with anger and launched themselves at Talonscratch. "Smokey's life mean't something!" Rosepaw hissed. Soon Saskia and Rosepaw had pinned the leader of the Shadow Claws down. "Do you want to do the honors?" Rosepaw asked. "Your thirtieth cat, just like you wanted." Saskia nodded. "But his will be the last cat I kill. I've realized from journeying with you that cats are a lot more than a living budle of fur." Saskia lunged and tore out the throat of Talonscratch. Rosepaw looked around as the light in his former mentor's eyes died, and All the shadows faded off the cats around them. They looked around groggily, as if waking from a long, deep sleep. "What are we doind here?" One asked. "There once was a mouse named Daisy, wholiked to eat oats and gravy. She was a very cannibalistic mouse you see," Another one murmured in a daze. "Great StarClan!" Rosepaw rolled his eyes. Saskia laughed. Just then, Rosepaw caught sight of a familier pelt entering the camp. "What happened here?" A bick black, grey and white tom meowed. "Badgerstar, what are you doing here?" Rosepaw asked. "We fo0llowed your scent trail." Badgerstar meowed. "We thought something was up when you and Talonscratch never returned from training a half moon ago. I decided to lead a patrol to find you." "Talonscratch turned trator and created and evil group of cats. They're the ones who killed the WindClan warrior and stole their kits." Rosepaw explained. "I was tired of never being made a warrior when Icepaw and Birdpaw were already gaining their warrior names." He nodded to Icepaw, who was on the patrol. "They were born after I was apprenticed. So I decided to run away." Rosepaw told Badgertar everything that had happened, including his suspicions about not being made a warrior because of his name. When he was done his story, he looked to Badgerstar to see what he had to say. "You should have come to me first instead of running away." Badgerstar told him. "But I see it did you some good, seeing as you got rid of this murderous group. I never made you a warrior because Talonscratch always said you weren't ready. Now I see he was wrong. Come home, it looks like your warrior ceremony is long overdue." "Thanks Badgerstar." Rosepaw dipped his head. he turned to Olive and Saskia. "What will you do?" "I'm goin to find that place of books Smokey grew up in." Olive meowed sadly. "I'm going to teach myself to read, in memory of him." "Good-bye then." Rosepaw meowed. He realised by the sadness and grif in his voice that Olive must have loved him. "What will you do Saskia?" "I'd like to come join your clan." Saskia decided. "If that's okay with you Badgerstar. It would be a good idea for me to get to know other cats, otherwise my bad habit may start up again. Besides, Rosepaw is the closest friend I've ever had." Badgerstar dipped his head. "Fine by me, you seem to have the makings of a great warrior." After saying theirt good-byes to Olive, the patrol turned around and began the journey back home. Everything was how it should be. Category:Cinderstar of ThunderClan's fanfics